Jctriguy

Not much to add here. I think whatever scale them make each model is fine. They quite often make a model in multiple scales over several years. We have had numerous different front-end loaders and excavators in the last 10years. Some have 200 parts and others have 1500+ parts. That is great in my eyes. I wouldn't want them to limit the type of models or functions based on an arbitrary scale.

Depends what you paid for it and what you consider profit. It probably won't hit 1,000 like CC. But if it hits 300 and you paid 120. That works out ok.

If you ask for opinions on an online forum, don't shoot people when they give them. Be sure to post your finished street.

The GE is way bigger than the Pet Shop. One is 3 floors at full 32x32, the other is one floor at 16x32 (not really full 16 either since the stairs are included in that size). Make it whatever size you feel is right for you. No rules that say you must keep the modular within the specs that Lego needs in order to sell them. They are all 32x32 and roughly the same height. Lots of people have modded the FB, GE, TH, CC to be taller or wider. And, lots of places have the same size buildings regardless of the what they contain. Paris is a good example of a city that mostly has 4-5 storey buildings. Some buildings have shops on the first floor and apartments on the next 3-4 floors. Others have larger shops or offices that might take up 2-5 floors. Most older cities have more consistent building heights, newer cities have the really tall and huge buildings.

Looking at the images again, I can see some big benefits to having the building not take the full width on the upper floors. The exterior on most other modular is all about the front façade. Very few have anything on the side or back. PR has lots of detail on the 2nd floor patio, stairs, chimney, etc. The exterior stairs to the 2nd floor is a new addition to the theme. Extra lamps on the patio, a larger front patio area, more detail behind the restaurant. With the PR you get to see a lot more of the details without opening the floors. Basically you lose out on a few basic bricks to cover in the walls, and gain a huge amount in details out in the open. Sounds good to me :)

The building is a brick or two lower than some of the other modulars. Not a big deal at all. I wouldn't make any general assumptions of a trend based on an n=1 assessment. The TH was much larger, that didn't turn into a trend of larger more expensive modulars. In my eyes, different is good. Something to change things up. I think it also fits in well with the lineup that GRogall has in his sig.

Personally, I like how this set fits in with other themes quite well. Since it doesn't have a building, you can add it to a modular street/town scene. It also has a huge range of parts that you can use in MOCs (dblue arches!!). I think it makes sense to break up themes every couple of years, gives some more variety to the WV theme. I can certainly see how it would be an issue if they made these 'collection' sets more often, you need the larger buildings to develop the theme. But, these multi part sets help add a lot to an existing WV theme or another town/modular setup.

I think it is probably more realistic to have 2 separate apartments above a French café. The 2nd floor is a small apartment, the 3rd floor and attic are a larger apartment/studio that is accessed from the exterior stairs from the 2nd level patio.

The Calgary Lego Store has no more stock and they don't expect to get any more in. Can still order online at lego.ca Looks like they will sell remaining stock and will probably be done by xmas. Still have 2 MISB sitting in storage :)

Not really seeing much similarity there. A bistro/café is very French/European in nature. Most would have an apartment above, most would have a dumpster or bins out back.

Town hall had 8 minifigs, GE had 7, PC had 6, PS/FB had 4 each. So 8 for the restaurant would he high, but not out of the question. In terms of pricing, maybe the US/CAN prices are different, but all the current modulars are $149 with Town Hall being $199. So it would be assumed that the new one would come out at $149 and come in with PS/GE/Cinema at the same price.

That's the beauty of Lego. They couldn't have released a set like this for a number of reason, but we get to make those changes ourselves and improve upon what we buy as a standard set. Overall I really like the mods, very well done. That said, I kinda like the original version better, this one seems a little crowded to me. From the sounds of it, I'm in the minority on that one. 48 wide or convert it to a non-corner building would maybe give more room and space to add all those seats.

If you have access to Amazon.com sales, it has been on for $120 most of the past few weeks. I think today it went back to $149 and listed as 11 left in stock. I picked up a few of them when it was on sale, just have to drive to the border and collect them now :)

Anyone know if the front doors look like 1x2x5 trans-clear bricks? If so, that would be a new part and could be very useful for different window options. http://www.flickr.com/photos/brothers-brick/8392691717/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Bit extreme don't you think?? I'll certainly be picking one up.

If you create a wanted list with min quantity listed and max price, it will allow you to sort lists of stores based on meeting those requirements. Once you have minimums listed go to the tab 'by shop' and it will show you a list of all stores that meet those criteria. I use BrickStore to create the wanted list by parting out a set and setting the price as the 6month average sale price or some % below that price. It isn't perfect, but is way faster than manually entering prices. I'm 95% finished parting my Cafe Corner together. Had about 500 parts to start with and the remaining came from bricklink, PAB and Lego Direct. Still haven't ordered the dark red roof slopes, but I'm sure that will happen eventually. I'm planning to start the build with DBG slopes. It's a fun project trying to find the right mix of orders at 5-10 different stores. You make some mistakes on a few orders and win on some others, eventually you figure out a system that ensures decent prices and shipping costs.